A conventional opto-electronic system, illustrated in FIG. 1, includes an opto-electronic module 1, e.g. a transceiver, and a cage/guide rail assembly 2. The module 1 includes an optical connector 3 at a front end thereof, and an electrical connector 4 at a rear end thereof. Typically, the optical connector 3 includes a pair of ports for receiving a first optical fiber to be optically coupled to a receiver optical sub-assembly (ROSA), and a second optical fiber to be optically coupled to a transmitter optical sub-assembly (TOSA). The TOSA and the ROSA are disposed adjacent one another on a module printed circuit board within a module housing 6. For convenience, the electrical connector 4 is formed on an edge of the module printed circuit board.
The cage/guide rail assembly is for mounting in a host computer device, and includes a faceplate 7 mounted on an edge of a host printed circuit board 8, and a cage or guide rail 9 mounted on the host circuit board 8 extending from the faceplate 7. An access hole 10 is provided in the faceplate 7 enabling the module 1 to pass therethrough into the cage 9. An electrical connector 11 is mounted within the cage 9 for receiving the electrical connector 4, and for transmitting electrical signals between the host computer device and the opto-electronic module 1.
Conventionally, as new multi-source agreement (MSA) transceiver systems were developed, the cage or rail assemblies for securing the optical module to a host computer system changed significantly, so there was no confusion over which transceiver fit into which cage/rail assembly. However, currently there is a desire to maintain some of the existing module and cage sizes or dimensions to enable some parts to be used in multiple product lines. Unfortunately, problems can arise when new transceiver modules are plugged into systems with existing non-compatible electrical connectors, and vice versa, when old transceiver modules are plugged into new cages with new non-compatible electrical connectors.
An object of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a transceiver module/cage system that ensures transceiver modules can not be plugged into non-compatible cages.